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Enjoy the very best of LondonFri, 22 May 2015 17:44:12 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.3London 2012 Festival Events Announcedhttp://blog.visitlondon.com/2011/11/london-2012-festival-events-announced/
http://blog.visitlondon.com/2011/11/london-2012-festival-events-announced/#commentsFri, 04 Nov 2011 13:22:46 +0000http://blog.visitlondon.com/?p=23708Actor Mark Rylance will accost members of the public and quote lines from Shakespeare as part of next summer’s London 2012 Festival.

Accompanied by a group of actors “disguised as normal people”, the Jerusalem star will approach people in the street and on Tube trains, and spout lines such as “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day”.

“This is a thing that I’ve done for 15 or 17 years on Shakespeare’s birthday,” said Rylance. “The idea is to take this beautiful language and put it in the street, in a real person’s situation.”

The 12-week festival will also feature a new show by Damon Albarn and the English National Opera called Dr Dee, an exhibition of Tony Cragg’s sculpture on Exhibition Road, and daredevil dancers at London landmarks.

The Passenger is a bleak story, but through the medium of opera it resonated with the ENO audience last Wednesday to the extent that by the end many were on their feet applauding, touched by the melancholy account. Based on the semi-autobiographical novel Pasazerka by Auschwitz survivor Zofia Posmysz, it is brought to the stage by librettist Alexander Medvedev and composer Mieczyslaw Weinberg.

Set in the early 1960s and focussing on the effects of the Holocaust, it is, unsurprisingly, a heavy night. Johan Engels’ set is marvellous, a symbolic white ship that beneath the decks reveals a dark and dusty camp, home of the tortured prisoners. This visual juxtaposition is intensely shocking and makes the narrative even more appalling.

The opera documents an encounter between two women – one is a former Auschwitz guard, the other a former prisoner. We watch the story unfurl in the camp, while in the present (15years later) they unexpectedly meet again on a boat to Brazil, provoking feelings of guilt, terror, sadness and revenge.

Weinberg’s music is challenging and unexpected, and demonstrates a mix of influences. Expansive and complex, I was amazed by the fluency of the orchestra and conductor Sir Richard Armstrong. I was most moved by the folk tunes in the second half, especially the a cappella Russian song by Katya (Julia Sporsen). Vocally the cast are tremendous, and particular mention must go to leading ladies Michelle Breedt (Liese) and Giselle Allen (Marta) who both sing superbly.

Weinberg’s The Passenger is a modern masterpiece and the ENO delivers a staggering experience. I hope this opera gets the recognition it deserves, the massive effort and dedication is clear in every aspect of this production.

Legendary director Jonathan Miller rarely disappoints and here he exceeds all expectations, reviving his popular production of this comic classic. Set in the 1950’s, inspired by the era of Marilyn Monroe, it feels as if Donizetti precisely intended this setting and time, the modernity chimes with the fun and flirty storyline and score.

Sarah Tynan has the charm and attitude to make the perfect pin-up girl Adina. With a peroxide blonde hairdo and a cheeky pink uniform she shakes her hips and isn’t afraid to flirt naughtily on stage. Her soprano voice is bright and clear, and she controls it well during the fiddly arias, running up and down the virtuosic passages with elasticity. She is surrounded on stage by a cast of talented men, Ben Johnson is brilliant as the lovesick Nemorino; with a gorgeous bel canto tenor voice he suits Donizetti’s music well. Andrew Shore is hilarious as the fraudulent doctor, witty and full of life, his acting and singing are commendable.

The story is loosely inspired by actual events. We watch Inspector Anne Strawson as she struggles to find 13 year old Jake’s killer.

There is one obvious lead – a teenage boy caught on CCTV leaving the murder scene, and yet as the narrative unfurls it seems there is more to this crime than the obvious facts. To discover the truth, Detective Strawson must delve into a menacing cyberworld of internet sites and chatrooms.

Two Boys kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. The clever storytelling, with tiny clues revealed throughout, left me desperately trying to solve the murder mystery myself; it was completely engaging and captivating.

Muhley’s score is enchanting – spooky and beautiful, imaginative and aggressive, and I found it heartbreakingly moving. Vocally, I enjoyed the chorus moments best: massive, grand, multi-layered writing that conveys the overwhelming reach of the internet.

Bartlett Sher’s staging is beautifully realised through Michael Yeargan’s designs, a set that really adds to the production. The large chorus stand illuminated eerily at the back while other characters are elevated in darkly lit towers across the front of the stage – it is oddly magical and otherworldly.

Nico Muhley’s new creation is an operatic masterpiece that will stun audiences.

]]>http://blog.visitlondon.com/2011/06/two-boys-at-the-eno/feed/0Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at London Coliseumhttp://blog.visitlondon.com/2011/05/brittens-a-midsummer-nights-dream-at-london-coliseum/
http://blog.visitlondon.com/2011/05/brittens-a-midsummer-nights-dream-at-london-coliseum/#commentsWed, 25 May 2011 09:34:41 +0000http://blog.visitlondon.com/?p=21337The English National Opera‘s new production of Britten‘s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is certainly not conventional.

Director Christopher Alden has scrapped the dreamy forest in favour of a 1960’s school yard setting – a tad morbid and bizarre. Some of the characters are teachers (Oberon and Tytania) and some are pupils (Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius and Helena). The lover’s tiffs from Shakespeare’s original turn to adolescent arguments and teenage romances.

Charles Edward‘s set is strikingly beautiful and imaginative – giant brickwork walls of an urban British boys school, complete with high windows and several floors, it is staggeringly realistic. For me the design was the highlight of the production.

Visually this opera is quite unbelievable. The vast set and at times the sheer quantity of young boys on stage is enough to make you gasp. No-one can deny it is a daring production but I couldn’t help wondering how necessary all this drama is? It is not beneficial to our understanding, confused the already complicated narrative, and made little sense to me.

The large cast dealt with this odd interpretation as best they could. I have never seen so many young children in one opera – at one point when all the boys lined up across the stage I counted nearly 40!

The vocal star of the show was most definitely counter tenor Iestyn Davies as Oberon. He sings this tricky part wonderfully with pitch perfect accuracy and gorgeous tone. I could have listened to him all night. The chorus excelled producing a rich sound and bringing the best out of Britten’s stunning music.

The orchestra worked persistently on Britten’s tricky music, and I thought their rendition evoked all the magic of the Britten’s otherworldly score. Leo Hussain performed well too, conducting with a sensitive understanding of the music. Much of this opera’s music is quiet and hesitant – musical directions that are exhausting to conduct, especially for a three hour production. However, this didn’t seem to trouble Hussain at all and he seemed completely at ease throughout.

A very strange, and yet mesmerising production of Britten’s dazzling opera, go and see it if you like your opera a bit on the wild side.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the London Coliseum until 30 June. Book tickets

Richard Wagner set his own rules when composing, a freedom of expression that can be seen most in his epic operas. Their length and scoring requires a massive cast and orchestra, with sets and costumes to match. Wagner wrote all his own libretti and creates mythical kingdoms that are weird, wonderful and crazy – his works are unique. It is a great undertaking for a creative team to stage one of his magical music dramas; they must be ready to match his imagination and spirit, strength and character.

The ENO are currently reviving Nikolaus Lehnhoff’s production of Parsifal, which was critically commended back in 1999, with the Independent describing it as “the most intelligent, provocative and ultimately moving production”. This February most of the original creative team are back for the return show.The narrative is loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival, a 13th century poem that tells of an Arthurian knight and his quest for the Holy Grail.

I felt honoured to be seeing great Wagnerian singer John Tomlinson who can boast performing for 18 consecutive seasons at Bayreuth Festival from 1988. He plays Gurnemanz, the trusty chronicler of the Grail’s history. When I saw the opera, Tomlinson was everything I hoped he would be: powerful and yet gracious, he commands the stage unlike any singer I have seen before. The rest of the cast are vocally sublime too; Stuart Skelton as the title role shows real compassion and stamina throughout the five-hour piece and Jane Dutton as Kundry is dramatic and convincing. I adored the flower chorus dancing and singing, the women dressed in unbelievable draped costumes and lit so wonderfully. It was quite mesmerising to watch.

No one can deny the beauty of Wagner’s music in Parsifal. The orchestra are quite breathtaking, and are conducted magnificently by Mark Wigglesworth, who energises the score and injects the performance with real understanding and passion. In my seat in the front row of the dress circle I felt I was soaring with the music and being drawn into Wagner’s mysterious world.

]]>http://blog.visitlondon.com/2011/02/wagners-parsifal-triumphs-at-the-eno/feed/0Faust at the English National Operahttp://blog.visitlondon.com/2010/09/faust-at-the-english-national-opera/
http://blog.visitlondon.com/2010/09/faust-at-the-english-national-opera/#commentsTue, 21 Sep 2010 15:50:12 +0000http://blog.visitlondon.com/?p=14808The opera to see this month, in my opinion, is Faust, Gounod‘s five act epic.

Marking the start of the English National Opera (ENO)’s exciting new season this production is directed by award-winning director Des McAnuff, and conducted by the charismatic Edward Gardner. The opera is based loosely on Goethe’s Faust, Part I with a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carre and is an entirely new production for the ENO.

With a running time just over three hours and two intervals, you definitely get your money’s worth. This is a show that will appeal to both opera fanatics and those less confident with the form. The music is dramatic and the lyrical tunes will grab your attention. And the narrative is unusually easy to follow!

It is rare that I particularly notice an orchestra during an operatic performance, but in this case I did. They play with great vigour and energy, perhaps thanks to Gardner’s diverse experience conducting both West End bands and large operatic orchestras.

I cannot fault the singing either, Toby Spence leads the cast as the scientist Faust, a tiring tenor role that requires real talent; several of his arias were breathtakingly beautiful. There are only a few more soloists, I think Anna Grevelius as feeble Siebel and Iain Paterson as demonic Mephistopheles stand out.

The set is perhaps a little nonsensical, but I found it easy to overlook this as the other effects on stage are wonderful. Throughout the performance a giant projection of Marguerite’s face is shown, reminding us constantly of Faust’s leading lady and of the important love story that holds the narrative together. This face is particularly unnerving when it occasionally moves or blinks at you.

The opera Tosca is, above all, an epic love story. Every year you are sure to find Puccini’s masterpiece on somewhere, this summer it is being performed by the ENO (English National Opera) at London Coliseum.

My first encounter with this opera was at the age of 15 when I was given the part of Shepherd Boy (in my case they made it into Shepherd Girl) at Holland Park Opera. The power of the music blew me away, ever since it has been my favourite opera. This time around the music moved me close to tears.

The ENO’s production is stunning. The three central protagonists: Tosca, Scarpia and Cavaradossi are all played by singers that seem fully engrossed in their roles; this makes the audience’s job to watch and believe very easy. South African singer Amanda Echalaz makes a pretty Floria Tosca, her voice is unfaltering, but it was her acting that particularly impressed me. She was entirely convincing throughout and has genuine chemistry with her leading man. Tosca’s suicide, which concludes the opera, was spectacular with Amanda falling backwards off the rear of the stage with shocking grace.

Julian Gavin who plays Mario Cavaradossi has a wonderfully creamy tenor voice, a pure delight to listen to. It is a difficult role to sing, but he easily hit the notes and managed to fill the entire theatre. The baddie, Baron Scarpia must be a fun part to play, in this production Antony Michaels-Moore takes it on with gleeful terror.

The set had a Neo-Classical feel that worked well with the production as a whole. Cavaradossi’s painting in the first act is an important feature, and it is a shame that it was shown as a strange mosaic-type picture, but apart from that the set was appropriate.

Conductor, Edward Gardner did a sterling job with the orchestra, although the music needs little help to sound beautiful. Puccini himself commented, “Only with emotion can one achieve a triumph that endures” and this is entirely true of Tosca, which I believe has some of the most passionate, overpoweringly emotional music of all time.

Any well known opera is open to great criticism, but I have seen four productions of Tosca in my lifetime, and this is hands down the best. The ENO’s Tosca is on until the 10 July, I promise you won’t be disappointed, this is a show not to miss.